Castleford Tigers have announced their seventh signing ahead of the 2026 season with a rival Super League forward penning a two-year deal
Renouf Atoni becomes the third signing from Super League but he’s the fifth overseas player to be recruited with Castleford looking likely to make the most of the expanded overseas quota in
NRL additions Brock Greacen, Semi Valemei, Blake Taafe and Mikaele Ravalawa have all been confirmed as well as Hull FC duo Jordan Lane and Jack Ashworth, with former Wakefield Trinity man Atoni becoming the most recent addition.
He’s played somewhat of a back seat at Trinity this season due to how dominant Mike McMeeken and Caius Faatili have been but Atoni is an experienced prop who has two years of Super League experience, as well as one season in the Championship.
Prior to his move to Trin, he’d featured in both the NRL and New South Wales Cup for Canterbury Bulldogs, but he now crosses over to rival Castleford Tigers.
Castleford Tigers confirm Renouf Atoni arrival
Atoni’s move has been confirmed as a two-year deal with the club announcing his arrival via a club statement and their social media channels.
That statement read: “The Castleford Tigers are excited to announce the signing of Kiwi forward Renouf Atoni on a two-year deal ahead of the 2026 Super League season. He becomes the latest addition to incoming coach Ryan Carr’s side as the Tigers look to strengthen the squad for next year.”
The 30-year-old prop explained how the move came about, confirming that he and his agent had spoken with Tigers’ director of rugby Chris Chester in order to facilitate his move to Castleford.
Atoni explained: “My agent and I reached out to Chris and he seemed pretty keen. So we had a conversation and I’m pretty excited with the vision he has for the club, and I jumped at the chance to come over
“I’m really keen to get over and rip in. I know for a fact how passionate the fans are about the rebuild of the club.”
Castleford Tigers are delighted to announce the signing of Renouf Atoni 🐯 pic.twitter.com/OkHPAk9Pd4
— Castleford Tigers (@CTRLFC) September 29, 2025
The man on the other side of the deal, Chris Chester, added: “I’m delighted to get the Renouf Atoni deal sorted. Renouf has been a stand-out performer for Wakefield and he will add size and power to our existing forward pack.
“I know Renouf will love his time working with Ryan Carr and playing for the Castleford Tigers over the next two years.
